


Memento Mori

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Series: Making Hats [4]
Category: Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-22
Updated: 2010-03-22
Packaged: 2017-10-08 05:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follows 'Mad World'. <i>Mirana of Marmoreal has been afraid for a long time.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Memento Mori

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [This interview](http://blog.blush.com/index.php/playing-the-queens-helena-bonham-carter-anne-hathaway/) by Anne Hathaway about playing the White Queen. 'Cute but psycho, it evens out.'

Mirana of Marmoreal has been afraid for a long time.

She is not afraid of her older sister, Iracebeth of Crims, nor the damage that the Queen of Hearts has wrought to this land. She is not afraid of the clean up, getting Underland back to its former pristine glory, if not better.

Mirana is afraid of herself.

The kumquat does not fall far from the tree, as the saying goes.

She is afraid not because she isn't terrified of what her sister has wrought, because she is horrified by it, but because she can understand it. Mirana understands the urges and the impulses all too well.

Unlike Iracebeth however, she does not let those urges run free. She has taken vows, the strongest vows she can swear, vows of non-violence. She has grown strong under those vows, strong in the Healing arts. Every creature, every living thing in the Underworld can sense that in her and is drawn towards her.

It is both a strength and a weakness. Because she cannot cause harm to any living creature, she cannot lift a hand, either to protect others or defend herself.

Which is why she has a Champion.

Her fear has faded greatly since Alice has returned to Underland to stay.

Her dear Hatter was so miserable without his Alice. He faded while she was gone, losing his _muchness_. She has been delighted to watch it returned when Alice did, Tarrant turning bright and vibrant again. Earlier that day she watched Tarrant show Alice how to do a proper _Futterwacken_, despite Alice's laughing protests that her body cannot possibly move in all the ways his can.

'Give it time' he laughed as his torso spun freely in jubilant circles.

Currently the Hatter is teaching Alice how to use a sword, a proper sword, not just the Vorpeal Blade that knows what it wants and directs her body there. He is teaching her Outlandish at the same time, Alice approaching both with a friendly but fiercesome determination.

"_Orgal!_" Tarrant orders, his voice rough with Outlandish brogue, the same language the Resistance used to communicate while they worked to overthrow the Red Queen. '_ Downal wyth Bluddy Begh Hid!_'

Alice obligingly swings to the left. Tarrant almost lazily blocks with his huge claymore, the clash of metal almost musical.

Tarrant doesn't know that Alice has only the vaguest memories of him from her previous trips to Underland. His horrible muttered words upon her departure, a terrible curse, that she won't remember him have come true. Alice has not told him, nor will she. It is of no consequence, Alice knows Tarrant, even if she does not remember him. She is happy making new memories with him, ones she will not forget this time.

"_Nunz!_"

Alice checks her initial movement to strike, holding the blade as steady as she waits for Tarrant's next command. The Hatter smiles, one of muted mischief as she keeps a ready stance, the blade between him and her at all times from harsh practise. Her Hatter is a bit of a trickster.

Mirana has not seen Tarrant smile so much since before the horrible Horunvendush Day, when her then-Champion fell to the Jabberwocky, dropping his sword in fear, and condemning them all. The day Tarrant Hightopp lost his entire clan, right down to his dear little sister.

"_Ezel!_" Comes the command and Alice strikes high, Tarrant meeting her blow. He nods, his expression pleased.

It has been commented that Tarrant and Alice are as brother and sister. It has also been dropped in her ear that perhaps there is more to their relationship. Mirana does not care either way, merely content as long that both are happy.

"_Noge!_" Alice sings out, swinging her sword low. Tarrant jumps to avoid it, waggling a finger in warning. Alice merely grins back, unrepentant.

"_Kiotchyn._" The heads up is practically a warning growl, tempered with amusement. "_Orgal! Stang! Ezel! Ezel! Stang! Orgal!_" He snaps out, rapid fire now as Alice hastens to block his strikes. Left, Right, Above, Above, Right, Left.

She is grateful to her Hatter for taking Alice's education in his hands. Alice is her Champion, now until one of them should die or step down. And as Champion, Alice fights in Mirana's stead, to defend against any and all dangers to Underland.

All dangers.

"_Zounder!_" Alice spins and finds the Hatter behind her, smiling like a cat. She does not hesitate, stepping to the side so that she can see that there are two Tarrant standing there, not fooled by the trick.

"Nice try." Alice smirks.

Mirana of Marmoreal, she was named by her parents.

Marmoreal. 'As smooth and white as marble'.

White as a Mausoleum.

One of the Tarrant disappears in a wisp of dark grey smoke. "Can't blame a cat for trying." Chessur purrs with a casual shrug as he turns upside-down. It's a move that would be adorable in a kitten, which their Cheshire Cat is most assuredly not.

Alice's smirk grows. "You know..." She says, almost idly, although her guard does not drop, keeping an eye on both Chessur and Tarrant. "I'm pretty sure I heard Bielle telling Bayard their pups could use some more exercise..."

Chessure gulps and wisps away.

"Good girl." Tarrant praises. "Now, _Noge!_" He steps forward, swinging low and it is her turn to jump to avoid the strike.

White is supposed represent purity. But she is not pure. Her eyes, her lips, her nails. They are _tulgey_, thick and dark. Black as the grave. Red as drying blood.

Tarrant chases Alice around the courtyard, shouting commands as they go, pressing Alice hard. She returns the favour, dancing around a statue and chasing him around the yard, the Hatter still snapping commands. Give and take. Concentration and laughter.

Mirana tried to warn Alice when they first met, not to be deceived by her appearance or reputation. Her sister Iracebeth preferred to study Dominion over Living Things, she'd told Alice as she'd made the _pishsalver_. A pinch of worm fat. Buttered fingers. Three coins from a dead man's pocket.

She collected all the ingredients herself. The worms from the grave of a man she dug up, her little blade going _snicker-snack_ as she severed tissue and bone, removing the fingers from the hand.

Mirana studies the Dominion over the Dead.

She does not know if her sweet Hatter knows this. With the exception of Tarrant, the rest of the citizens of Underworld are welcoming a period of reconstruction and peace now that Iracebeth is gone. And yet, Tarrant is teaching their dear champion warfare and the sword alongside the _Futterwacken_.

It could be a way for the two to bond, to have something else in common, but Mirana is not sure. Tarrant is Mad, the madness leeching out of his skin, his hair, his nails. He sees the world in ways others don't.

And while he trains Alice, he slyly keeps the knives and swords away from Mirana. A silent guard. A warning, perhaps. Or not.

One never knows with a Hatter.

Somehow swordfighting becomes dancing, the blades set aside in favour of them twirling in a fast paced two-step to the sound of music that only exists in their Hatter's mind. Their breathless laughter fills the courtyard with their carefree sound.

There is some irony in that her sister, The Red Queen, the Queen of Hearts, is the one who brought death and heartbreak while Mirana attempts to preserve life. She tries very hard to ignore those darker impulses, to keep things light and happy.

For the most part, she succeeds.

But should Mirana's control ever falter and she fall down the slippery path her sister went down...

Well, there is Alice.

It falls to Alice to stop her.

-fin-

**Author's Note:**

> _'Memento mori' is Latin for 'Remember You Must Die'._
> 
> **Outlandish Glossary:**  
> Ezel: High, go higher, go up.  
> Kiotchyn: 'Heads' up or 'pay attention'.  
> Noge: Go low down.  
> Nunz: Wait or 'Don't go, not now'.  
> Orgal: To the left.  
> Sloth: Slowly  
> Stang: To the right.  
> Tulgey: Thick, dense, dark.  
> Zounder: A warning to 'look out behind you!'


End file.
